WSOPE Main Event Day 1a draws to an end

A star-studded field of 154 players rocked up to play some cards on day 1a of the WSOPE Main Event – and after an action packed day the field was just over halved.

Highlights of the day were aplenty. Doyle Brunson performed the traditional ‘shuffle up and deal’ honours, a most fitting gesture considering he was there when the WSOP started 40 years ago.

Jeffrey Lisandro was presented with the Player of the Year award for his record-equalling triple bracelet win earlier this year at the WSOP. His prize was free entrance into the 2010,2011,2012 WSOP Main Events. Finnish player Jani Vilmunen, winner of the £5,000 Omaha Event #3 that concluded the day before, also got involved in the party and collected his gold bracelet in an official ceremony.

However, overshadowing all the previously mentioned had to be the usual nonsense entrance by Phill Hellmuth. He arrived in a horse-drawn chariot dressed as a Roman centurion - much to the confusion of the Leicester Square demographic.

Brian Powell leads the field after Day 1a with 194,000 followed closely by Jason Mercier and Sami ‘LarsLuzak’ Kelopuro.

Tuesday is the deadline for all working Americans to have submitted their income tax returns to the federal government and Juicy Stakes and Intertops Poker are set to mark this annual occasion by holding a special freeroll competition featuring a $1,000 top prize.

“We run a lot of higher stakes tournaments for our more hard-core players,” said Intertops’ poker manager. “But since our network is generally pretty soft, we created this series to give less competitive players a shot at winning.”